Human-vehicle interaction

ABSTRACT

According to one or more aspects, systems and methods for human-vehicle interaction are described herein. A touchpad may include a first touchpad zone and a second touchpad zone. A display may include a first display zone and a second display zone, which correspond to the first touchpad zone and the second touchpad zone, respectively. A processor may execute instructions stored on a memory to perform rendering a first application in a first mode within the first display zone of the display and rendering a second application in a second mode within the second display zone of the display. The processor, in response to an input from the touchpad, may render the already running second application in a first mode within the first display zone of the display and render the first application in a second mode within the second display zone of the display.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. Non-Provisional patentapplication, Ser. No. 15/669992 (Attorney Docket No.HRA-41783.01//H1162629US03) entitled “HUMAN-VEHICLE INTERACTION”, filedon Aug. 7, 2017, which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional PatentApplication, Ser. No. 62/421,322 (Attorney Docket No.HRA-41750//H1162629US01) entitled “SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR HMI DESIGN ANDHUMAN-VEHICLE INTERACTION”, filed on Nov. 13, 2016; the entirety of theabove-noted application(s) is incorporated by reference herein.

BACKGROUND

Generally, vehicles may be equipped with displays, such as centerconsole displays, car dashboard displays (e.g., meter display), touchscreen displays, or other displays. These displays may render vehicleinformation for a user, driver, passenger, or other occupant of avehicle. Human machine interfaces (HMI) in the vehicle may facilitateinteraction between a human (e.g., a driver, passenger) in the vehicleand the vehicle or associated vehicle systems. The user interface (UI)design of such systems may provide a self-explanatory, intuitive,efficient, or user-friendly way to operate the vehicle and/or to provideinformation.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION

According to one or more aspects, a system for human-vehicle interactionmay include a touchpad, a display, a memory, and a processor. Thetouchpad may include a first touchpad zone and a second touchpad zone.The display may include a first display zone and a second display zone.The first display zone corresponds to the first touchpad zone and thesecond display zone corresponds to the second touchpad zone. The memorymay store one or more instructions. The processor may execute one ormore of the instructions stored on the memory to perform rendering afirst application in a first mode within the first display zone of thedisplay. The first mode may be an application mode. The processor mayperform rendering a second application in a second mode within thesecond display zone of the display. The second mode may be a widgetmode. The processor may receive an input from the touchpad indicative oflaunching the second application. In response to receiving the inputfrom the touchpad, the processor may perform rendering the alreadyrunning second application in a first mode within the first display zoneof the display. The first mode may be an application mode associatedwith greater functionality than the widget mode of the secondapplication. In response to receiving the input from the touchpad, theprocessor may perform rendering the first application in a second modewithin the second display zone of the display.

The processor may render the first mode of the first application with afirst interface and the second mode of the first application with asecond interface arranged differently than the first interface. Thetouchpad may include a divider between the first touchpad zone and thesecond touchpad zone. The first touchpad zone and the second touchpadzone may be arranged at different heights. The first touchpad zone andthe second touchpad zone may have different textures. The processor mayrender a graphic application identifier in the second display zoneindicative of an order associated with the application currently beingrendered in the second display zone. The input from the touchpad may bea click or a double tap in the second touchpad zone. The input from thetouchpad indicative of launching the second application may be receivedwhile an icon associated with the second application is being rendered.

According to one or more aspects, a method for human-vehicle interactionmay include rendering a first application in a first mode within a firstdisplay zone of a display, rendering a second application in a secondmode within a second display zone of the display, receiving an inputfrom a touchpad, wherein the touchpad includes a first touchpad zone anda second touchpad zone, rendering the second application in a first modewithin the first display zone of the display in response to the inputfrom the touchpad, and rendering a third application in a second modewithin the second display zone of the display in response to the inputfrom the touchpad based on the first application having no second modeand based on the input from the touchpad.

The third application may be a default application. The secondapplication may be a default application and the third application maybe a secondary default application. The method may include rendering thefirst mode of the second application with a first interface and thesecond mode of the second application with a second interface arrangeddifferently than the first interface. The touchpad may include a dividerbetween the first touchpad zone and the second touchpad zone. The firsttouchpad zone and the second touchpad zone may be arranged at differentheights. The first touchpad zone and the second touchpad zone may havedifferent textures. The method may include rendering a graphicapplication identifier in the second display zone indicative of an orderassociated with the application currently being rendered in the seconddisplay zone. The input from the touchpad may be a click or a double tapin the second touchpad zone. The method may include rendering an iconassociated with the second application.

According to one or more aspects, a system for human-vehicle interactionmay include a touchpad, a display, a memory, and a processor. Thetouchpad may include a first touchpad zone and a second touchpad zone.The display may include a first display zone and a second display zone.The first display zone may correspond to the first touchpad zone and thesecond display zone corresponds to the second touchpad zone. The memorymay store one or more instructions. The processor may execute one ormore of the instructions stored on the memory to perform rendering afirst application in a first mode within the first display zone of thedisplay. The first mode may be an application mode. The processor mayperform rendering a second application in a second mode within thesecond display zone of the display. The second mode may be a widgetmode. The processor may receive an input from the touchpad indicative oflaunching the second application. The processor, in response toreceiving the input from the touchpad, may render the second applicationin a first mode within the first display zone of the display. The firstmode may be an application mode associated with greater functionalitythan the widget mode of the second application. The processor, inresponse to receiving the input from the touchpad, may render a thirdapplication in a second, widget mode within the second display zone ofthe display. The third application may be an application associated witha first priority order.

The first priority order may be based on currently running applications.The processor may receive a second input from the touchpad indicative oflaunching the third application. In response to receiving the secondinput from the touchpad, the processor may perform rendering the thirdapplication in a first mode within the first display zone of thedisplay. The first mode may be an application mode associated withgreater functionality than the widget mode of the third application. Inresponse to receiving the second input from the touchpad, the processormay perform rendering a fourth application in a second, widget modewithin the second display zone of the display. The fourth applicationmay be an application associated with a second priority order. Thetouchpad may include a divider between the first touchpad zone and thesecond touchpad zone. The first touchpad zone and the second touchpadzone may be arranged at different heights. The first touchpad zone andthe second touchpad zone may have different textures.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an illustration of an example system for human-vehicleinteraction, according to one or more embodiments.

FIG. 2 is an illustration of an example touchpad for a system forhuman-vehicle interaction, according to one or more embodiments.

FIG. 3 is an illustration of a display and exemplary interfaces for asystem for human-vehicle interaction, according to one or moreembodiments.

FIG. 4 is an illustration of a display and exemplary interfaces for asystem for human-vehicle interaction, according to one or moreembodiments.

FIG. 5 is an illustration of a display and exemplary interfaces for asystem for human-vehicle interaction, according to one or moreembodiments.

FIG. 6A-6C are illustrations of a display and exemplary interfaces for asystem for human-vehicle interaction, according to one or moreembodiments.

FIG. 7A-7D are illustrations of a display and exemplary interfaces for asystem for human-vehicle interaction, according to one or moreembodiments.

FIG. 8 is an illustration of an example flow diagram of a method forhuman-vehicle interaction, according to one or more embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The following terms are used throughout the disclosure, the definitionsof which are provided herein to assist in understanding one or moreaspects of the disclosure. The definitions include various examplesand/or forms of components that fall within the scope of a term and thatmay be used for implementation. The examples are not intended to belimiting.

“Computer communication”, as used herein, refers to a communicationbetween two or more computing devices (e.g., computer, personal digitalassistant, cellular telephone, network device) and may be, for example,a network transfer, a file transfer, an applet transfer, an email, ahypertext transfer protocol (HTTP) transfer, and so on. A computercommunication may occur across, for example, a wireless system (e.g.,IEEE 802.11), an Ethernet system (e.g., IEEE 802.3), a token ring system(e.g., IEEE 802.5), a local area network (LAN), a wide area network(WAN), a point-to -point system, a circuit switching system, a packetswitching system, among others. As another example, the system of FIG. 1may receive information from a mobile device by computer communicationover the network or perform computer communication using the bus or thecommunication interface.

The processor may include a processing unit or microprocessors whichexecute instructions stored on the memory or the disk. A “processor”, or“processing unit” as used herein, processes signals and performs generalcomputing and arithmetic functions. Signals processed by the processormay include digital signals, data signals, computer instructions,processor instructions, messages, a bit, a bit stream, that may bereceived, transmitted and/or detected. Generally, the processor may be avariety of various processors including multiple single and multicoreprocessors and co-processors and other multiple single and multicoreprocessor and co-processor architectures. The processor may includelogic circuitry to execute actions and/or algorithms.

The “logic circuitry”, as used herein, includes, but is not limited to,hardware, firmware, a non-transitory computer readable medium thatstores instructions, instructions in execution on a machine, and/or tocause (e.g., execute) an action(s) from another logic circuitry, module,method, and/or system. Logic circuitry may include and/or be a part of aprocessor controlled by an algorithm, a discrete logic (e.g., ASIC), ananalog circuit, a digital circuit, a programmed logic device, a memorydevice containing instructions, and so on. Logic may include one or moregates, combinations of gates, or other circuit components. Wheremultiple logics are described, it may be possible to incorporate themultiple logics into one physical logic. Conversely, where a singlelogic is described, it may be possible to distribute that single logicbetween multiple physical logics.

A “module”, as used herein, includes, but is not limited to, anon-transitory computer readable medium that stores instructions,instructions in execution on a machine, hardware, firmware, software inexecution on a machine, and/or combinations of each to perform afunction(s) or an action(s), and/or to cause a function or action fromanother module, method, and/or system. A module may also include logic,a software controlled microprocessor, a discrete logic circuit, ananalog circuit, a digital circuit, a programmed logic device, a memorydevice containing executing instructions, logic gates, a combination ofgates, and/or other circuit components. Multiple modules may be combinedinto one module and single modules may be distributed among multiplemodules. Examples of modules may include a display control modulecontrolling displaying or rendering of one or more applications withinone or more zones of a display or display screen, an input module orvehicle event module receiving one or more inputs from I/O devices, suchas the touchpad, an application module running one or more applicationson an operating system of the system for human-vehicle interaction, anapplication management module managing the priority, order, defaultorder, widget train, or other execution related aspects of one or moreof the applications, an image generation module generating visualfeedback associated with input received from the I/O devices, and so on.

“Computer-readable medium” or “computer-readable device”, as usedherein, refers to a non-transitory medium that stores instructionsand/or data. A computer-readable medium may take forms, including, butnot limited to, non-volatile media, and volatile media. Non-volatilemedia may include, for example, optical disks, magnetic disks, and soon. Volatile media may include, for example, semiconductor memories,dynamic memory, and so on. Common forms of a computer-readable mediummay include, but are not limited to, a floppy disk, a flexible disk, ahard disk, a magnetic tape, other magnetic medium, an ASIC, a CD, otheroptical medium, a RAM, a ROM, a memory chip or card, a memory stick, andother media from which a computer, a processor or other electronicdevice may read.

“Component”, as used herein, refers to a computer-related entity (e.g.,hardware, firmware, instructions in execution, combinations thereof).Computer components may include, for example, a process running on aprocessor, a processor, an object, an executable, a thread of execution,and a computer. A computer component(s) may reside within a processand/or thread. A computer component may be localized on one computerand/or may be distributed between multiple computers.

The memory may include a volatile memory and/or a nonvolatile memory.Non-volatile memory may include, for example, ROM (read only memory),PROM (programmable read only memory), EPROM (erasable PROM), and EEPROM(electrically erasable PROM). Volatile memory may include, for example,RAM (random access memory), synchronous RAM (SRAM), dynamic RAM (DRAM),synchronous DRAM (SDRAM), double data rate SDRAM (DDRSDRAM), and directRAM bus RAM (DRRAM). The memory may store one or more instructions whichinclude an operating system that controls or allocates resources of acomputing device, one or more applications, and so on.

The “disk”, as used herein may be, for example, a magnetic disk drive, asolid-state disk drive, a floppy disk drive, a tape drive, a Zip drive,a flash memory card, and/or a memory stick. Furthermore, the disk may bea CD-ROM (compact disk ROM), a CD recordable drive (CD-R drive), a CDrewritable drive (CD-RW drive), and/or a digital video ROM drive (DVDROM). Similarly to the memory, the disk may store one or moreinstructions which include an operating system that controls orallocates resources of a computing device, one or more applications, andso on.

A “database”, as used herein, is used to refer to a table. In otherexamples, a “database” may be used to refer to a set of tables. In stillother examples, a “database” may refer to a set of data stores andmethods for accessing and/or manipulating those data stores. A databasemay be stored, for example, at the disk and/or the memory.

As seen in FIG. 1, the bus forms an operable connection between theprocessor, the memory, the disk, and the communication interface. The“bus,’ as used herein, refers to an interconnected architecture that isoperably connected to transfer data between computer components within asingular or multiple systems. The bus may be a memory bus, a memorycontroller, a peripheral bus, an external bus, a crossbar switch, and/ora local bus, among others. The bus may also be a vehicle bus thatinterconnects components inside a vehicle using protocols such asController Area network (CAN), Media Oriented System Transport (MOST),Local Interconnect Network (LIN), among others.

An “operable connection”, or a connection by which entities are“operably connected”, is one in which signals, physical communications,and/or logical communications may be sent and/or received. An operableconnection may include a wireless interface, a physical interface, adata interface, and/or an electrical interface.

A “vehicle”, as used herein, refers to any moving vehicle that iscapable of carrying one or more human occupants and is powered by anyform of energy. The term “vehicle” includes, but is not limited to cars,trucks, vans, minivans, SUVs, motorcycles, scooters, boats, go-karts,amusement ride cars, rail transport, personal watercraft, and aircraft.In some scenarios, a motor vehicle includes one or more engines.Further, the term “vehicle” may refer to an electric vehicle (EV) thatis capable of carrying one or more human occupants and is poweredentirely or partially by one or more electric motors powered by anelectric battery. The EV may include battery electric vehicles (BEV) andplug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEV). The term “vehicle” may alsorefer to an autonomous vehicle and/or self-driving vehicle powered byany form of energy. The autonomous vehicle may carry one or more humanoccupants. Further, the term “vehicle” may include vehicles that areautomated or non-automated with pre-determined paths or free-movingvehicles.

A “vehicle display” or “display” (e.g., when used with reference to adisplay in a vehicle), as used herein may include, but is not limitedto, LED display panels, LCD display panels, CRT displays, plasma displaypanels, touch screen displays, among others, that are often found invehicles to display information about the vehicle, such as the displaysof FIG. 1, which include display screens. The display may receive input(e.g., touch input, keyboard input, input from various other inputdevices, and so on.) from a user. The display may be located in variouslocations of the vehicle, for example, on the dashboard or centerconsole. In some embodiments, the display is part of a portable device(e.g., in possession or associated with a vehicle occupant), anavigation system, an infotainment system, among others. For example,the display may be the center console display, while the display may bethe dashboard display.

An “input/output device” (I/O device) as used herein may include devicesfor receiving input and/or devices for outputting data, such as thetouchpad or the display. The touchpad may include sensors which enablethe touchpad to detect a number of fingers a user is using or thetouchpad to distinguish between multiple zones. The input and/or outputmay be for controlling different vehicle features which include variousvehicle components, systems, and subsystems. Specifically, the term“input device” includes, but is not limited to: keyboard, microphones,pointing and selection devices, cameras, imaging devices, video cards,displays, push buttons, rotary knobs, and the like. The term “inputdevice” additionally includes graphical input controls that take placewithin a user interface which may be displayed by various types ofmechanisms such as software and hardware based controls, interfaces,touch screens, touch pads, or plug and play devices. An “output device”includes, but is not limited to: display devices, and other devices foroutputting information and functions, such as the displays of the systemof FIG. 1.

A “vehicle system”, as used herein may include, but is not limited to,any automatic or manual systems that may be used to enhance the vehicle,driving, and/or safety. Exemplary vehicle systems include, but are notlimited to: an electronic stability control system, an anti-lock brakesystem, a brake assist system, an automatic brake prefill system, a lowspeed follow system, a cruise control system, a collision warningsystem, a collision mitigation braking system, an auto cruise controlsystem, a lane departure warning system, a blind spot indicator system,a lane keep assist system, a navigation system, a transmission system,brake pedal systems, an electronic power steering system, visual devices(e.g., camera systems, proximity sensor systems), a climate controlsystem, an electronic pretensioning system, a monitoring system, apassenger detection system, a vehicle suspension system, a vehicle seatconfiguration system, a vehicle cabin lighting system, an audio system,a sensory system, an interior or exterior camera system among others.

A ‘widget’ may be, for example, a small stand-alone application (or beassociated with another application which may be run in different modesor have different interfaces with different configurations,functionalities, or arrangements) that includes a graphical userinterface for displaying information and/or functions associated withone or more applications. Further, an application associated with awidget may be referred to as a ‘parent application’. As an illustrativeexample, widgets may include a clock widget, a weather widget, an emailwidget, an audio widget, a phone widget, and so on.

As used herein, the term “infer”, “inference”, “predict”, “prediction”,“estimate”, or “estimation” generally refer to the process of reasoningabout or inferring states of a system, a component, an environment, auser from one or more observations captured via events or data, and soon. Inference may be employed to identify a context or an action or maybe employed to generate a probability distribution over states, forexample. An inference may be probabilistic. For example, computation ofa probability distribution over states of interest based on aconsideration of data or events. Inference may also refer to techniquesemployed for composing higher-level events from a set of events or data.Such inference may result in the construction of new events or newactions from a set of observed events or stored event data, whether ornot the events are correlated in close temporal proximity, and whetherthe events and data come from one or several event and data sources.

FIG. 1 is an illustration of an example system 100 for human-vehicleinteraction, according to one or more embodiments. The system mayinclude a processor 110, logic circuitry, one or more modules 112, amemory 120, a bus 122, a disk 130, a communication interface 140, adisplay 150 with a display screen 152, a touchpad 160 with one or moresensors 162, and a second display 170 with a second display screen 172(e.g., other display). The system may interact with one or more vehiclesystems 180 or receive information from other devices over a network 190which enables computer communication.

FIG. 2 is an illustration of an example touchpad 160 for a system 100for human-vehicle interaction, according to one or more embodiments.FIGS. 2-8 may be described with reference to one or more of thecomponents (e.g., the processor 110, the memory 120, the display 150,the touchpad 160, and so on.) of the system 100 for human-vehicleinteraction of FIG. 1. As seen in FIG. 2, the touchpad 160 includes afirst touchpad zone 210 and a second touchpad zone 220. Here, the firsttouchpad zone 210 may be referred to as ‘Zone A’ (or the ‘A Zone’,primary touchpad zone) and the second touchpad zone 220 may be referredto as ‘Zone B’ (or the ‘B Zone’, secondary touchpad zone). Althoughmerely two zones are illustrated, it will be appreciated that additionalzones may be utilized in other embodiments. The first touchpad zone 210corresponds to a first display zone of the display 150 and the secondtouchpad zone 220 corresponds to a second display zone of the display150, as illustrated in FIG. 3, for example. In one or more embodiments,the touchpad 160 maps to or has a 1:1 correlation (or other correlation)with the display 150 or display screen 152.

The touchpad 160 may include a divider between the first touchpad zone210 and the second touchpad zone 220 (e.g., the line or boundary betweenthe two zones) which provides tactile differentiation between therespective zones. Because a single pointer or selection may be displayedon the display 150, the divider may be arranged to provide subtletactile feedback when moving a finger or other appendage across thetouchpad 160 between the first touchpad zone 210 and the second touchpadzone 220. In one or more embodiments, the first touchpad zone 210 andthe second touchpad zone 220 may be arranged at different heights,thereby enabling the user to use their sense of feel to operate thetouchpad 160 while driving. In other embodiments, the first touchpadzone 210 and the second touchpad zone 220 may have different textures orother characteristics which enable the user to distinguish between therespective zones while driving (without having to look at the touchpad160 to distinguish the zones).

In one or more embodiments, the first touchpad zone 210 and the secondtouchpad zone 220 are clickable or the sensors 162 may sense a tapgesture at the first touchpad zone 210 or the second touchpad zone 220and the processor 110 may interpret the tap gesture as a ‘click’. Inthis way, the sensors 162 of the touchpad 160 may detect a click, a tap,a double tap, etc. or other gestures and the processor 110 may receivethe user input and manage applications accordingly. In otherembodiments, buttons may be provided at the touchpad 160, such as a leftclick button 230, a center click button 232, and a right click button234.

In one or more embodiments, the processor 110 executes instructionsstored on the disk 130 or the memory 120 to run an operating systemwhich enables the use of ‘apps’ or applications (e.g., applicationprograms, computing programs, or programs) to be run on the system 100for human-vehicle interaction. In other words, the operating systemenables the user to interact with or run applications which interactwith the hardware of the vehicle or other hardware, such as a mobiledevice of the user. An example of the operating system may be seen inFIG. 3.

FIG. 3 is an illustration of a display and exemplary interfaces for asystem 100 for human-vehicle interaction, according to one or moreembodiments. As seen in FIG. 3, the display 150 or display screen 152 ofthe vehicle may be divided into multiple zones to promote multitaskingof different applications. In this example, the first display zone 310(e.g., primary task zone, Zone A, A Zone, and so on.) of the display 150is on the left and the second display zone 320 (e.g., secondary taskzone, Zone B, B Zone, and so on.) of the display 150 is rendered on theright. The first display zone 310 may be utilized to display activeapplications, while the second display zone 320 may be utilized todisplay other applications (e.g., applications associated with adifferent interface, rendered in a different size, applications inwidget mode, applications which are running in the background, and soon.). In one or more embodiments, the first display zone 310 isassociated with a larger area than the second display zone 320. Thus,the second display zone 320 may be utilized to display information whichis useful, but not part of an application being displayed in the firstdisplay zone 310, thereby enabling multi-tasking of applications. As anexample, the processor 110 may have the second display zone 320 displaynotifications.

In one or more embodiments, the memory 120 or the disk 130 of the system100 for human-vehicle interaction may store instructions which areassociated with one or more of the applications. For example, some ofthe instructions associated with a program or an application may, whenexecuted by the processor 110, run the corresponding application in afirst mode. Other instructions, when executed, may run the applicationin a second mode (e.g., a widget mode), third mode, and so on. Accordingto one or more aspects, the processor 110 may select the mode in whichto execute the application based on the zone in which the application isto be executed.

For example, the processor 110 may execute the application in a firstmode when the application is running in the first display zone 310. Asanother example, the processor 110 may execute the application in asecond mode when the application is running in the second display zone320. However, when an application is rendered by the processor 110 inthe first display zone 310 and the application is rendered as a widgetin the second display zone 320, they are both associated with the sameparent application. Stated another way, the processor 110 may run theapplication in application mode in the first display zone 310 and thesame application in widget mode in the second display zone 320 (but notnecessarily concurrently or simultaneously). As such, in one or moreembodiments, it is unnecessary to display a widget in the second displayzone 320 simultaneously or concurrently with its related parentapplication in the first display zone 310, although it may be possiblein other embodiments.

The second mode or the widget mode of the application may be a compactversion of the application in application mode. For example, the secondmode or compact mode may have less or different functionality or options(rendered or visible) than a first mode of the application. Statedanother way, an interface of the first mode of the application may berendered differently than an interface of the second mode of theapplication. In one or more embodiments, the second mode of anapplication may be the mode that the application runs in when theapplication is inactive. In other embodiments, the second mode may berendered to occupy a different amount of screen area than the first modeof the same application. However, it will be appreciated that ‘hidden’commands may still be available while the widget is running in thesecond mode. For example, while no pause function is rendered on thesecond display zone 320 of FIG. 3, predefined user inputs (e.g., a pressand hold gesture) at the second touchpad zone 220 received may cause theprocessor to pause audio associated with the audio application. Otherexamples of ‘hidden’ commands may include advancing to the next trackwith a left to right swipe in the second touchpad zone 220.

In any event, the processor 110 renders an operating system 312 in thefirst display zone 310 (e.g., Zone A) and an application in the seconddisplay zone 320 (e.g., Zone B). The processor 110 renders one or moreicons on a home screen of the operating system 312 which may be selectedby use of the first touchpad zone 210. On the home screen, differentapplication icons 314 a, 314 b, 314 c, 314 d, 314 e, 314 f, 314 g, and314 h are presented. In one or more embodiments, the interface of theoperating system 312 may always have an active selection. In otherwords, one of the icons for a corresponding application or some portionof the screen is always or constantly selected, thereby mitigating theuse of a mouse pointer, for example. In other embodiments, a pointer maybe rendered by the processor 110 within the operating system 312interface. Because multiple applications are available, multiple homepages may be rendered virtually adjacent to one another. For example, atwo finger swipe to the left may result in the processor 110 rendering asecond home screen with additional application icons (not shown). Whenthe second home screen is rendered, a graphical home screen identifier318 may be rendered by the processor 110 to indicate that the secondhome screen is being presented, rather than the first home screen.Further, additional options may be set or rendered when the options icon316 is selected.

The application in the second display zone 320 of FIG. 3 may be an audioapplication, such as an USB audio application. Thus, the processor 110renders information such as album information 324, song information 326,etc. within the second display zone 320. Other information may berendered in the second display zone 320 regardless of the applicationrendered in the second display zone 320. For example, the time 322 maybe rendered in the second display zone 320.

Widget Train

Additionally, the display control module of the processor 110 may queueapplications for launch in the second display zone 320. In order tocycle through and view each widget or application in the second displayzone 320 on the display screen 152, the user may use a swipe gesture onthe surface of the touchpad 160 to scroll through the currently runningwidgets or applications. In other words, a vertical swipe input receivedat the second touchpad zone 220 may cause the processor 110 to render adifferent application in the second display zone 320 based on apredetermined order and one or more currently running applicationswithin either the first display zone 310 or the second display zone 320.

The swipe gesture may include a swipe of at least a defined thresholdlength or a swipe in a predefined direction. In this way, the processor110 may set multiple applications to be available in the second displayzone 320 as a ‘train’ of tiles. Stated another way, the processor 110may render an application in a second mode (e.g., in widget mode) in thesecond display zone 320 and enable a quick swap from that application toanother application based on a predetermined order and based onsuppressing applications which are already active. Thus, the visiblescreen area of the second display zone 320 may act as a lens, displayingone widget or application (running in a second mode) at a time. Based onuser input from the touchpad 160, a scrolling input may cause theprocessor 110 to render a transition between applications in the widgettrain and render different widgets within the second display zone 320.

For example, if the processor 110 has application A running in the firstdisplay zone 310 in a first mode (e.g., application mode) andapplication B running in the second display zone 320 in a second mode(e.g., widget mode), and the predetermined order for the applications isA, B, C, to D, a downward swipe (e.g., from top to bottom) in the secondtouchpad zone 220 (corresponding to the second display zone 320) wouldresult in the processor 110 rendering application D in the second modebecause the downward swipe is associated with a ‘scroll up’ type commandand also because application A is already currently running or beingrendered in the first display zone 310, the processor 110 ‘skips’ orsuppresses the execution of a second instance of the already running orcurrently executing application A in the second display zone 320.

In other words, the processor 110 may adjust the list of applications orthe widget train order based on a predetermined priority for theapplications, a use history of the applications, or applications whichare already being rendered in another display zone (e.g., first displayzone 310 or elsewhere). Stated yet another way, the processor 110 maysuppress the rendering of an application in the second display zone 320based on another occurrence (e.g., active) of the application (e.g.,regardless of the mode of the application) in another display zone(e.g., the first display zone 310) or on another display 170. In thisway, the second display zone 320 may be used to display widgets orapplications in a second mode which are not necessarily associated withan active application (e.g., application being rendered in the firstdisplay zone 310). As an example, the processor 110 may open apreviously utilized application in place of the suppressed application.

Example widget train order:

-   -   A    -   B    -   C    -   D

In one or more embodiments, the processor 110 ‘rolls’ the display orrendering of programs so that if application D is being rendered on thesecond display zone 320 and an upward swipe (e.g., from bottom to top)is received in the second touchpad zone 220 (corresponding to the seconddisplay zone 320), the processor 110 renders application A (in thesecond mode) because the upward swipe is associated with a ‘scroll down’type command and also because application A is circularly linked to theend of the widget train order. Stated another way, the applications arecontinuously linked from top to bottom such that when the bottom mostapplication or widget is being displayed, a scroll down input causes theprocessor 110 to render the top most tile, application, or widget. Theorder of the widget train may be adjusted using a widget configurationapplication, for example.

In this way, the processor 110 may have the second display zone 320render a ‘train’ of applications (e.g., widgets or applications in asecond mode). The processor 110 may render a graphic applicationidentifier 328 in the second display zone 320 which is indicative of anorder associated with the application being rendered in the seconddisplay zone 320. For example, in FIG. 3, the graphic applicationidentifier 328 is rendered to illustrate to a user that there are threeapplications in the ‘widget train’ (e.g., Application A, Application B,and Application C) and that Application A is the application beingdisplayed. In FIG. 3, the graphic application identifier 328 includesthree diamonds in a vertical row. The first diamond is highlighted,thereby indicating the first application in the widget train iscurrently displayed in the second display zone 320. Thus, a user may, ata glance, determine that three applications are currently available inthe second display zone 320 and that the first application (e.g.,application one of three) is the application being rendered in thesecond display zone 320.

As such, swipe inputs (or other types of inputs received at the touchpad160 or the second touchpad zone 220) may cause the processor 110 torender the other applications (e.g., application two of three orapplication three of three) based on the direction of the swipe andwhether one of the applications is already running in the first displayzone 310, for example. When Application B or Application C are renderedwithin the second display zone 320 by the processor 110, the displaycontrol module of the processor 110 may update the graphic applicationidentifier 328 to highlight the second or third diamond, therebyalerting the user that the second or third application of threeapplications is being displayed.

Application Priority

In one or more embodiments, the selection of one of the applicationicons from the home screen of the operating system 312 interfacelaunches the corresponding application in the first display zone 310.For example, if the navigation icon is selected via user input from thetouchpad 160 (e.g., a double tap or a click from the first touchpad zone210 while the navigation icon is highlighted), the processor 110 maylaunch the navigation application in a first mode in the first displayzone 310. After the navigation application is launched in the firstdisplay zone 310, the USB audio application remains in the seconddisplay zone 320, running in a second mode. An example of this isillustrated in FIG. 5.

As another example, if the USB audio application is running in a secondmode in the second display zone 320 and the USB audio icon 314 d isselected via user input from the touchpad 160 (e.g., a double tap or aclick from the first touchpad zone 210 while the USB audio icon 314 d ishighlighted), the processor 110 may launch the USB audio application ina first mode in the first display zone 310, close the USB audioapplication (running in the second mode) in the second display zone 320,and launch a default application in the second display zone 320 in placeof the USB audio application running in a second mode in the seconddisplay zone 320.

Similarly, this may also occur based on an input from the secondtouchpad zone 220 selecting and expanding the application in the seconddisplay zone 320 (e.g., the USB audio application). After the USB audioapplication is launched in the first display zone 310, the defaultapplication (e.g., the default application may be a predeterminedapplication, such as the navigation application) runs in the seconddisplay zone 320 in a second mode. An example of this is illustrated inFIG. 4. In this way, applications which are moved from one zone toanother may be replaced by other applications based on a defaultpriority list or default application order.

Explained another way, because the USB audio application is alreadyrunning in the second display zone 320 in a second mode, selection ofthe same USB audio application from the first display zone 310 would notresult in both display zones 310 and 320 running different modes of thesame USB audio application, as this would be redundant. Instead, the USBaudio application is launched in the first mode in the first displayzone 310, and a default application is launched in the second displayzone 320 in a second mode based on a default order of defaultapplications and the currently rendered applications within the firstdisplay zone 310 (e.g., operating system 312) and the second displayzone 320 (e.g., USB audio application).

As another example, if the default order of the default applications isA, B, C, and D, if Application Q is being rendered by the processor 110in the first display zone 310, Application A will be the applicationrendered (e.g., in the second mode) in the second display zone 320. IfApplication A is selected via user input from the touchpad 160 (e.g., adouble tap or a click from the second touchpad zone 220), Application Bwill automatically be the application rendered (e.g., in the secondmode) in the second display zone 320 by the processor 110. IfApplication B is launched from the home screen of the operating system312, Application A is the application rendered (e.g., in the secondmode) in the second display zone 320 by the processor 110 becauseApplication A is higher in the default order and not currently beingrendered on either display zone 310 or 320. In one or more embodiments,the default order of the default applications may be based on the usehistory of one or more of the applications, one or more userpreferences, and so forth. In this way, the configuration of the widgettrain or displaying of widgets in the second display zone 320 may bemodified based on active parent applications.

For one or more of the figures herein, one or more boundaries may bedrawn with different heights, widths, perimeters, aspect ratios, shapes,and so on. The boundaries are drawn relative to one another merely forillustrative purposes, and are not necessarily drawn to scale. Someboundaries may be imaginary or representative of virtual borders, suchas the dashed lines in FIGS. 4-5. Because dashed or dotted lines may beused to represent different boundaries, if the dashed and dotted lineswere to be drawn on top of one another they would not be distinguishablein the figures, and thus may be drawn with different dimensions orslightly apart from one another, in one or more of the figures, so thatthey are distinguishable from one another. Further, where a boundary isassociated with an irregular shape, the boundary, such as a box drawnwith a dashed line, dotted lined, etc. does not necessarily encompass anentire component in one or more embodiments. Conversely, a drawn boxdoes not necessarily encompass merely an associated component, in one ormore embodiments, but may encompass a portion of one or more othercomponents as well.

The processor 110 may enable two or more applications to be run orexecuted in a simultaneous, concurrent, or parallel manner. Examples ofthis may be seen in FIGS. 4-5. The system 100 for human-vehicleinteraction may enable a user, such as a driver of the vehicle, tointeract with or manage a configuration of two or more applications byproviding user input through the touchpad 160. Examples of applicationmanagement or human-vehicle interaction include swapping the position ofthe applications, resizing the applications, transforming an applicationfrom a first mode to a second mode (or from an application into awidget, increasing or decreasing functionality of the application),managing which application is active, scrolling through availableapplications, swapping positions of applications between portions of asingle screen or multiple screens, rendering applications with differentinterfaces, and so on. Thus, the first display zone 310 and the seconddisplay zone 320 (e.g., of FIG. 3) may correspond to the first touchpadzone 210 and the second touchpad zone 220 of the touchpad 160 (e.g., ofFIG. 2).

FIG. 4 is an illustration of a display and exemplary interfaces for asystem 100 for human-vehicle interaction, according to one or moreembodiments. In FIG. 4, it can be seen that a first application may berendered in a first mode within the first display zone 410 of thedisplay 150 and a second application may be rendered in a second modewithin the second display zone 420 of the display 150. In this example,the first application is a USB audio application and the secondapplication is a navigation application. Further, the first mode is anapplication mode and the second mode is a compact or widget mode.Because the USB audio application is in the first application mode, acommand ribbon 434, and one or more suggestions 436, 438, 452, and 454are shown. At the top of the first display zone 410, a graphic indicator412 and a menu icon 432 are shown. Media information 414, 416, and 418are rendered as part of the interface of the USB audio application. Atthe top of the second display zone 420, graphic indicators 430 are shownwhich are indicative of the time and signal strength. Graphic indicators422, 424, 426, 428, and 442 illustrate information related to thenavigation application.

Swapping Application Zones and Application Modes

In one or more embodiments, a selection of the second application (e.g.,the navigation application) via a touch input from the second touchpadzone 220 of the touchpad 160 causes the processor 110 to render thesecond application in a first mode within the first display zone of thedisplay 150 and the first application (e.g., USB audio application) in asecond mode within the second display zone of the display 150. However,different scenarios, such as the selection of the application in thesecond display zone, may result in the transition of applications fromthe second display zone to the first display zone, thereby activatingthe application in the second display zone and sending the applicationin the first display zone to the background or the second display zone.

In this regard, FIG. 5 is an illustration of a display and exemplaryinterfaces for a system 100 for human-vehicle interaction, according toone or more embodiments. FIG. 5 will now be described in contrast orwith reference to a transition from FIG. 4, where the applications are‘swapped’ between the first display zone and the second display zone ofrespective figures.

In some scenarios, a user may wish to view the application of the seconddisplay zone in a larger or fuller mode. In this regard, the user mayclick or double tap the second touchpad zone 220, indicating the desireto expand the application from the second display zone. As a result of atouchpad input or in response to the touchpad input, the processor 110may swap positions of applications between the first display zone andthe second display zone. The processor 110 may further change the modeof an application from a first mode to a second mode or from the secondmode to the first mode.

As seen in FIG. 5, the navigation application is rendered with adifferent interface than the navigation application of FIG. 4.Similarly, the USB audio application of FIG. 5 is rendered with adifferent interface than the USB audio application of FIG. 4. The firstdisplay zone 510 is associated with the navigation application and thesecond display zone 520 is associated with the USB audio application.

In FIG. 5, the USB audio application has less functionality renderedthan the USB audio application of FIG. 4 in that merely the artist andsong information 522 and 524 are rendered while the command ribbon 434and suggestions 436, 438, 452, and 454 are rendered in FIG. 4. However,the graphic indicator 430 did not change from FIG. 4 to FIG. 5 at 530.In one or more embodiments, the application name 512 is renderedalongside the menu icon 516. Some aspects of the navigation applicationinterface of FIG. 5 are similar to the navigation application interfaceof FIG. 4, such as the turn by turn navigation graphic indicator 514 orthe graphic indicators 442 and 526, while additional information may beprovided by graphic indicators 518, 532, 534, and 536 in FIG. 5.

Thus, because the different modes of the same application of FIG. 4 andFIG. 5 are rendered with different interfaces, each arranged differentfrom one another, in the different display zones, a different level offunctionality, level of detail, or information is provided between thedifferent display zones.

The transition from FIG. 4 to FIG. 5 on the display 150 may be based onthe USB audio application having a second mode. In some scenarios, theUSB audio application may not have a second mode. In these scenarios,the default application from the default application list or defaultapplication order may be utilized. For example, if an input from thetouchpad 160 is received while the first application is running in afirst mode in the first display zone and the second application isrunning in a second mode in the second display zone, but one of theapplications does not have the other mode (e.g., the first applicationhas no second mode), the processor 110 may execute or launch a thirdapplication (e.g., a default application from a list of defaultapplications using a default order) in a second mode within the seconddisplay zone of the display 150 (e.g., based on the first applicationhaving no second mode). In one or more embodiments, the default ordermay be based on user application history or user preferences. Forexample, the most launch applications may be the highest on the order ofdefault applications.

Further, when one of the applications already rendered on the firstdisplay zone or the second display zone is already the defaultapplication, a secondary default application may be used when needed. Inother words, in response to the input from the touchpad 160, theprocessor 110 may perform rendering of a third application in a secondmode within the second display zone of the display 150 based on thefirst application having no second mode when the second applicationalready running is the default application and the third application isa secondary default application. In this way, default applications maybe launched when applications have no associated alternative modes(e.g., second mode).

FIG. 6A-6C are illustrations of a display and exemplary interfaces for asystem 100 for human-vehicle interaction, according to one or moreembodiments. In FIGS. 6A-6C, a transition occurs between theapplications of the first display zone 610 and the second display zone620. In FIG. 6A, a navigation application 612 is rendered by theprocessor 110 in the first display zone 610 and an audio application 622is rendered in the second display zone 620. In FIG. 6B, the navigationapplication continues running 612′ and a portion of the audioapplication 622′ is highlighted to illustrate that a corresponding userinput has occurred at the touchpad 160 (e.g., within the second touchpadzone 220) or otherwise provide visual feedback that the touchpad 160 isbeing engaged. For example, an image generation module of the processor110 may generate visual feedback associated with input received from thetouchpad 160 and the processor 110 may render the feedback in a positionon the display screen 152 which corresponds to the position of the inputfrom the touchpad 160. This visual highlight provides feedback to theuser indicating control over the content or the application in thesecond display zone of the display screen 152.

In one or more embodiments, the color, hue, or intensity of the visualfeedback may be proportional to the pressure applied on the touchpad 160or a length of time the input is received. In other embodiments, thecolor, hue, or intensity of the visual feedback may be varied to enablethe user to quickly spot the location of the input on the display screen152. In FIG. 6C, the audio application 612″ is swapped to the firstdisplay zone 610 and the navigation application 622″ is swapped to thesecond display zone 620 based on the touch input from the touchpad 160(e.g., in contrast to FIGS. 6A-6B).

FIG. 7A-7D are illustrations of a display and exemplary interfaces for asystem 100 for human-vehicle interaction, according to one or moreembodiments.

In FIGS. 7A-7B, an operating system is at a home screen in the firstdisplay zone 710 and an audio application is rendered in the seconddisplay zone 720. Graphic indicators 722 and 724 display informationrelated to the audio application. On the home screen, differentapplication icons 712 a, 712 b, 712 c, 712 d, 712 e, 712 f, 712 g, and712 h are presented. If the application icon 712 a for the audioapplication is selected while the audio application is running in thesecond display zone 720, the processor 110 transforms the audioapplication from a second mode to a first mode and renders the audioapplication in the first display zone 710 along with additional commands726 and 728 while keeping graphic indicators 722 and 724. Because theaudio application is moved from the second display zone 720 to the firstdisplay zone 710, a replacement application (e.g., default application730) is launched by the processor 110. At 732, a menu options icon isprovided.

In FIGS. 7C-7D, an operating system is at a home screen in the firstdisplay zone 710 and an audio application is rendered in the seconddisplay zone 720. Graphic indicators 722 and 724 display informationrelated to the audio application. On the home screen, differentapplication icons 712 a, 712 b, 712 c, 712 d, 712 e, 712 f, 712 g, and712 h are presented. If the application icon 712 b for the navigationapplication is selected while the audio application is running in thesecond display zone 720, the processor 110 launches the navigationapplication in the first display zone 710 and keeps the audioapplication in the second display zone 720.

FIG. 8 is an illustration of an example flow diagram of a method 800 forhuman-vehicle interaction, according to one or more embodiments. Themethod 800 may include rendering a first application in a first modewithin a first display zone at 802. This may be an application inapplication mode within a primary task zone of a display screen, forexample. The method 800 may include rendering a second application in asecond mode within a second display zone of the same display screen at804. The second mode of the second application may be a widget mode.Thus, a second, different application may be running in the seconddisplay zone as a widget or a compact version of the application. Themethod 800 may include receiving an input from a touchpad, such as atouch input representative of a tap, a double tap, or a click from asecond touchpad zone which corresponds to the second display zone at806. In response, the method 800 may include rendering the secondapplication in a first mode within the first display zone, therebyeffectively moving the second application from the second display zoneto the first display zone, and transforming the second application froma widget into an application at 808.

One or more embodiments may employ various artificial intelligence (AI)based schemes for carrying out various aspects thereof. One or moreaspects may be facilitated via an automatic classifier system orprocess. A classifier is a function that maps an input attribute vector,x=, x2, ×3, ×4, xn), to a confidence that the input belongs to a class.In other words, f(x)=confidence (class). Such classification may employa probabilistic or statistical-based analysis (e.g., factoring into theanalysis utilities and costs) to prognose or infer an action that a userdesires to be automatically performed.

As used in this application, “or” is intended to mean an inclusive “or”rather than an exclusive “or”. Further, an inclusive “or” may includeany combination thereof (e.g., A, B, or any combination thereof). Inaddition, “a” and “an” as used in this application are generallyconstrued to mean “one or more” unless specified otherwise or clear fromcontext to be directed to a singular form. Additionally, at least one ofA and B and/or the like generally means A or B or both A and B. Further,to the extent that “includes”, “having”, “has”, “with”, or variantsthereof are used in either the detailed description or the claims, suchterms are intended to be inclusive in a manner similar to the term“comprising”.

Further, unless specified otherwise, “first”, “second”, or the like arenot intended to imply a temporal aspect, a spatial aspect, an ordering,and so on. Rather, such terms are merely used as identifiers, names,etc. for features, elements, items, and so on. For example, a firstchannel and a second channel generally correspond to channel A andchannel B or two different or two identical channels or the samechannel. Additionally, “comprising”, “comprises”, “including”,“includes”, or the like generally means comprising or including, but notlimited to.

It will be appreciated that various of the above-disclosed and otherfeatures and functions, or alternatives or varieties thereof, may bedesirably combined into many other different systems or applications.Also that various presently unforeseen or unanticipated alternatives,modifications, variations or improvements therein may be subsequentlymade by those skilled in the art which are also intended to beencompassed by the following claims.

1. A system for human-vehicle interaction, comprising: a touchpadincluding a first touchpad zone and a second touchpad zone; a displayincluding a first display zone and a second display zone, wherein thefirst display zone corresponds to the first touchpad zone and the seconddisplay zone corresponds to the second touchpad zone; a memory storingone or more instructions; and a processor executing one or more of theinstructions stored on the memory to perform: rendering a firstapplication in a first mode within the first display zone of thedisplay, wherein the first mode is an application mode; rendering asecond application in a second mode within the second display zone ofthe display, wherein the second mode is a widget mode; receiving aninput from the touchpad indicative of launching the second application;and in response to the input from the touchpad: rendering the alreadyrunning second application in a first mode within the first display zoneof the display, wherein the first mode is an application mode associatedwith greater functionality than the widget mode of the secondapplication, and wherein the first display zone and the second displayzone occupy an entire area of the display; and rendering the firstapplication in a second mode within the second display zone of thedisplay in a manner where the first application swaps display zones withthe second application.
 2. The system of claim 1, wherein the processorrenders the first mode of the first application with a first interfaceand the second mode of the first application with a second interfacearranged differently than the first interface.
 3. The system of claim 1,wherein at least one of: the touchpad includes a divider between thefirst touchpad zone and the second touchpad zone; the first touchpadzone and the second touchpad zone are arranged at different heights; orthe first touchpad zone and the second touchpad zone have differenttextures.
 4. The system of claim 1, wherein the processor renders agraphic application identifier in the second display zone indicative ofan order associated with the application currently being rendered in thesecond display zone.
 5. The system of claim 1, wherein the input fromthe touchpad is a click or a double tap in the second touchpad zone. 6.The system of claim 1, wherein the input from the touchpad indicative oflaunching the second application is received while an icon associatedwith the second application is being rendered.
 7. A method forhuman-vehicle interaction, comprising: rendering a first application ina first mode within a first display zone of a display; rendering asecond application in a second mode within a second display zone of thedisplay; receiving an input from a touchpad, wherein the touchpadincludes a first touchpad zone and a second touchpad zone; rendering thesecond application in a first mode within the first display zone of thedisplay in response to the input from the touchpad; and rendering athird application in a second mode within the second display zone of thedisplay in response to the input from the touchpad based on the firstapplication having no second mode and based on the input from thetouchpad, wherein the first display zone and the second display zoneoccupy an entire area of the display.
 8. The method of claim 7, whereinthe third application is a default application.
 9. The method of claim7, wherein the second application is a default application and the thirdapplication is a secondary default application.
 10. The method of claim7, comprising rendering the first mode of the second application with afirst interface and the second mode of the second application with asecond interface arranged differently than the first interface.
 11. Themethod of claim 7, wherein at least one of: the touchpad includes adivider between the first touchpad zone and the second touchpad zone;the first touchpad zone and the second touchpad zone are arranged atdifferent heights; or the first touchpad zone and the second touchpadzone have different textures.
 12. The method of claim 7, comprisingrendering a graphic application identifier in the second display zoneindicative of an order associated with the application currently beingrendered in the second display zone.
 13. The method of claim 7, whereinthe input from the touchpad is a click or a double tap in the secondtouchpad zone.
 14. The method of claim 7, comprising rendering an iconassociated with the second application.
 15. A system for human-vehicleinteraction, comprising: a touchpad including a first touchpad zone anda second touchpad zone; a display including a first display zone and asecond display zone, wherein the first display zone corresponds to thefirst touchpad zone and the second display zone corresponds to thesecond touchpad zone; a memory storing one or more instructions; and aprocessor executing one or more of the instructions stored on the memoryto perform: rendering a first application in a first mode within thefirst display zone of the display, wherein the first mode is anapplication mode; rendering a second application in a second mode withinthe second display zone of the display, wherein the second mode is awidget mode; receiving an input from the touchpad indicative oflaunching the second application; and in response to the input from thetouchpad: rendering the second application in a first mode within thefirst display zone of the display, wherein the first mode is anapplication mode associated with greater functionality than the widgetmode of the second application, and wherein the first display zone andthe second display zone occupy an entire area of the display; andrendering a third application in a second, widget mode within the seconddisplay zone of the display, wherein the third application is anapplication associated with a first priority order.
 16. The system ofclaim 15, wherein the first priority order is based on currently runningapplications.
 17. The system of claim 15, wherein the processor receivesa second input from the touchpad indicative of launching the thirdapplication.
 18. The system of claim 17, wherein in response to thesecond input from the touchpad, the processor performs: rendering thethird application in a first mode within the first display zone of thedisplay, wherein the first mode is an application mode associated withgreater functionality than the widget mode of the third application; andrendering a fourth application in a second, widget mode within thesecond display zone of the display.
 19. The system of claim 18, whereinthe fourth application is an application associated with a secondpriority order.
 20. The system of claim 15, wherein at least one of: thetouchpad includes a divider between the first touchpad zone and thesecond touchpad zone; the first touchpad zone and the second touchpadzone are arranged at different heights; or the first touchpad zone andthe second touchpad zone have different textures.